Three Quarters of our Little Loves

2-12

After our preschool Valentine party, we picked up an excited little guy from school holding a bag full of valentines from his classmates. We stopped in at his party but arrived too late (2:50). The parent helpers were already cleaning up and wiping tables while Mrs. Pecorilla read the kids a book before school let out. I was bummed to have missed the whole party, especially since Charlie asked specifically if I could come. :( I was probably more bent out of shape about it than he was. Charlie was excited to look through his valentine cards and ooo and ahh at all the treats in his bag. Pencils, stickers, tattoos, lollipops, and chocolates galore!

2nd Annual Rustand Valentine Party

2-12

Last year in an effort to grow some friendships we had a Valentine party. I think there were 6 moms and 10 kids counting us. I decided to do another Valentine party this year simply because it's fun for the kids. It's a decent amount of work for me, but it was worth it. :) I expanded the guest list this year and added two moms. We lost a few kids to kindergarten and preschool but gained a few kids via birth. Ha! We played one game where the kids divided into two teams and had to scoop conversation hearts onto a spoon and drop them in a bowl about 10 feet away. Most of the kids tried it at least once. We had a snack of applesauce pouches, rice krispie bars, teddy grahams and juice boxes. We decorated little love shacks (thanks, pinterest!) with a boatload of leftover candy in my house. In an effort to cut down on the mess and consequent clean-up, I assembled the houses the night before using candy melts. I put a scoop of frosting in a baggie and clipped one corner off so it was all ready to go. I set up one house and materials per family unit which worked well. One per person would have been way too overwhelming given the ages of the kids. I gave each family a bowl of candies and set out a few bowls of leftover candy to add to their shacks. The kids had a blast and the mess was relatively contained. I did find frosting three squares up on my living room window... AHHH!!! We sent home little heart shaped containers with two pieces of candy inside as little party favors. We had a fun time together. It seems like I am usually the one inviting and initiating get-togethers and playdates, but maybe that comes with the territory of having four children. People assume your (my) house is chaotic already so adding to the circus isn't a big deal so of course you would be having people to your house instead of being invited elsewhere. (Another topic for another day. Sigh.) I don't mind that much. And to answer the question that you'll soon be asking yourself, thirteen. Thirteen children can fit on one couch. :)

 I kept the snacks very simple. One homemade treat (Rice Krispie bars), two heart shaped trays and a plastic wine glass from the dollar store later, and we were set and ready. Here's proof that a fun gathering can be done on a small money and time budget. Store bought snacks? No shame in that!

 Moms and kids galore!

 From left to right: Mason Wells, Jace holding sister Mattea Heacock, Seth Kershner, Madison holding sister Ava Wells, Malaya Molatore, Emily holding sister Caroline Drake, Molly, Micah Dinger, Hattie and Alanna. Out of the families there, eight older children were at kindergarten or preschool. I know all of these children and their mothers from Monday morning bible study at our church.

 Emily, her mom Anna, and Alanna decorating their love shacks.

 Alanna, Molly's black eye, Melanie and Micah

 Alanna would have sat at the table working on her love shack for hours and hours if I let her. Seriously. I had to chase her down from the table.

 Molly helped by poking candies into the frosting. About every other candy made it onto the house. The rest fell victim to a quality taste test.

16 Weeks with this Smiling Girl!

2-11

Hattie is wearing an outfit from Great Uncle Ronny and Great Auntie Terri. She clearly loves it! Thanks for the cozy fleece outfit, Graalums! It's adorable. 

 This tiny girl just melts my heart.

Owie and Owie Care

2-10

In a string of nice days, the kids and I were outside playing quite a bit after school. With outside play comes the inevitable scrapes and owies. The first victim was Molly. She was walking up the cement steps in the backyard and rounded the corner to go up the deck steps but she tripped over the two inch cement step just before the deck. Down she went. I thought at first that she managed to miss the bottom deck step, but as soon as she sat up and I saw her face it was evident that she nailed her cheekbone on the step. A huge blue egg showed up instantly. She cried and cried - and rightfully so. Anything on the face hurts really bad. I put an icy pack on it followed by a band-aid though she wasn't actually bleeding. Molly calmed down after the band-aid, so whatever. I tried to take a picture of it the night it happened (the first picture), but her face just looks washed out. The next morning, she looked pretty rough. I snapped some pictures to document her first black eye (it is, right? or am I forgetting an incident?). Completely unrelated to the black eye, I had to wake her up from her nap that day to go pick up Charlie and it did not go well. She had a hard wake-up. She fussed and cried for close to an hour afterwards. Yikes. I tried everything; snacks, snuggles, books, toys, blankets, icy packs, and she wasn't having any of it. In a last ditch effort, I put on an episode of Curious George and it worked! She sat down and Alanna very kindly wrapped her blanket around her shoulders. Alanna then proceeded to sit next to Molly with her arm wrapped around her shoulders while they watched Curious George together. It was a very sweet gesture. 12 minutes later, Molly was back to her regular self just in time for Daddy to walk in the door. Whew!

River Forks Park

2-8

Matt crocheted a hat for Hattie and it is as darling as she is. The bow gets me every time. Hattie is enjoying the bumbo more and more these days. On this particular day, the sun finally burned through the fog about 2pm, so after school we were ready to go out and enjoy the warmth. I loaded up the kids and we played at River Forks park for the last hour and a half of the afternoon. There is an all inclusive playground that has some really neat things I haven't seen at any other parks around. There is a zip-line swing that resembles the tree swing in the backyard of the Cherry house from my childhood, and Charlie and Alanna were having a grand ol' time on that. Charlie demonstrated his mad monkey bar skills, Alanna smiled the entire time we were there, Molly went up and down the slide over and over again, and Hattie rested comfortably in the ergo wearing her new hat. We had a blast. It was a great afternoon to soak up the sun.

Meanwhile...

2-6

In between Molly opening birthday gifts, We had a bit of fun with her new sunglasses. The bright pink ones are from us and the other pair is from Polejewskis. Taking the picture of Hattie sitting in the bumbo with sunglasses on reminds me of one of my favorite pictures of Alanna, who was also sitting in the bumbo with sunglasses on at about 5 months old. So cute!

Molly's Birthday Celebration

2-6

 While the kids watched their usual two cartoons on Saturday morning, I made Molly special German Puffy Pancake breakfast. We planned to have her open birthday gifts mid-morning and eat birthday cake after lunch. I took a few pictures of her on the fireplace with her gifts, balloons, and the birthday banner of course. Molly was really sober and tight with her smile - possibly because she didn't know what to do with all of the attention. Funny, because the same girl wants (and gets lot of attention) anywhere and anytime on any other normal day! I guess she was done with me taking her picture with her gifts when she decided to open one of the small presents she had been holding. :) Once we started opening gifts, she was all about it; she opened one, looked at it/played with it/put it on if possible, and then walked over to the fireplace and pointed to the mantle wanting another gift to open. She opened lots of great presents; sunglasses, a racoon backpack, clothes, dresses, shoes, bath toys, camera, Little People princesses, and magnetic dolls to name a few. Alanna was such a great sport about letting the attention be on Molly and giving her some space while she was opening gifts. Not once did Alanna ask for something or pout about anything. Alanna is establishing herself as a really supportive and kind sibling. Charlie, on the other hand, is still struggling with the concept of being a good sport and letting someone else have all the attention for once. Unfortunately, Charlie chose to spend the gift time in his bedroom instead of changing his attitude. Maybe we need to provide him with more practice on being gracious during a sister's birthday. Perhaps we start celebrating half birthdays with a cupcake and one gift? We ate birthday cake with the birthday girl after she woke up from her nap. Molly blew out the candles all by herself!! The rest of the day was spent playing with Molly and her new toys, eating dinner, and going to church. I know Molly had a great day and felt special. She IS a special little girl!! Happy second birthday, Molly Girl!

 Look at Molly!!!! Isn't this picture AWESOME??? She's so cute, trying to copy her big brother and sister but not knowing exactly what they're doing. No wonder she doesn't know what to do with a view finder - cameras now don't have them anymore.